Daldajang

At least the WTOD is tucked away in backstory and we don't have to worry about it anymore.

Crowns are imperfect by nature. So a perfect crown is the one you do not have to wear!

I am referring to the quote, "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown", from Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 2. This line reflects the burdens and responsibilities that come with leadership, particularly kingship. King Henry IV expresses his struggles with sleeplessness and the weight of his moral obligations, highlighting the inner turmoil faced by those in power and the challenges faced by leaders in various fields.

It doesn't help that the production deliberately styled the actor to resemble Jin Mu (grey hair/dark goatee). The actor doesn't always appear like that in every production. (In his MDL page photo he is clean-shaven.)

And this after she was previously warned about the consequences when she fed the king late night ramen.

I really hope some more details will be revealed to reframe this so the smart capable FL was actually making smart, and not dumb, decisions!

2ML doesn't have to turn evil to make his own self-centered choices to thwart the 1ML & 1FL. The 1ML asked 2ML to interfere with his upcoming wedding. That was before 1FL was his betrothed, but the 2ML will still honor the request out of jealousy or out of his desire to confess his own feelings. Neither of those reasons make him evil.

That the SML suppresses a genuine unrequited love is shown clearly in his archery practice scene with the FL. (She gets physically very close, is totally comfortable with him, while he gets flustered.) His angst will assuredly develop over the season if only because of 2ML's prominence in the cast list and the drama's promotional photos!

An early scene reveals the 1ML asked the 2ML to use a legal maneuver to void his immanent arranged marriage, lest the 2ml be burdened with additional royal responsibilities. It seems obvious that 2ML will do just that, to interfere with the Princes nuptials with 1FL, but for his own personal reasons while the Prince no longer wishing him to do so.

But if there were any possibility the 1FL might reciprocate the 2ML's feelings, she would have considered him as a potential husband back when she was racking her brain for a suitable mate to thwart her father's own arranged marriage plans. But she didn't and it's surprising she did not, because he fit her criteria of a perfect candidate, so there's really no likelihood of any actual love triangle actually developing. But we can expect the prince to be led to believe otherwise, complicating the primary couple's path to their inevitable happily ever after.

She may have an internal battle going on—outwardly poised, comporting herself in accordance with her lifelong training and royal responsibilities, while inwardly lustfully burning to mate with the exact kind of man that she was raised to esteem (and the exact opposite of her disappointing former husband, despite his royal preeminence.)

"Methinks the lady doth protest too much!"
--Hamlet

OK. So the prince snuck outside of the secure palace interior to greet her.

Yes. One of the reasons being we were shown a scene where the Queen Mother takes note of the similar resemblance between the former king and his son.

IYKYK

The odd-numbered episodes have post-credits epilogues which provide additional context to prior scenes—ep 1 shows more of the prayer burning at the palace, and ep 3 reveals additional details about the school archery competition.

The crown is obviously tight on money—they can't afford proper security around the palace! Not even a sentry patrols the perimeter. Plus some fool decided to place benches conveniently along the outside wall such that the FL needed only a small footstool to scale it.

The villain character from Alchemy of Souls (Jin Mu) is played by actor Jo Jae Yun. He doesn't always play a villain, but many think he looks like one—especially when he sports the black goatee and silver hair from that role which he does in PC as Yun Seong Won (I Rang's father).

https://kisskh.at/people/2715-jo-jae-yun

What exactly was that bowl (historic artifact) which the FL received from the school headmaster in ep 1 as a reward (along with the derisive comment about her parentage)? It looked like perhaps some kind of astrolabe or perhaps a sundial?

Gotcha! haha

I'm sure they do! It would be a total fail—embarrassing & inexcusable missed marketing opportunity—if they didn't.

Innocent, you say? In the real world, any dude who doesn't move to the couch but instead spends the night laying right next to IU without instinctually spooning & grinding her or without being tortured by his tumescence is totally gay!

That scene when she assessed her husband (the king) as weak when he wanted to abdicate—and she saw the same weakness in her son's face—was contrasted with her positive appraisal of the ML for possessing the regal qualities she admires. She is still young & fertile and so some commenters have speculated thusly.

But probably not using walnut & acorn shells!

Maybe the divorce is fake, and the 2nd marriage is private, and for love!